Nass

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
21

<p>I put aerospace engineering first.</p>

22

<p>I was at NASS session 3 this past summer and the way they did classes made it not really matter what you put as your choices. We were issued our 'assigned classes' at beginning but when it came time to go to them we were told it didn't really matter and we could go to whatever class we wanted to. The Class Assignments are numbered and when you get ready to go to class everyone goes out in front of Bancroft and finds their 'number' before everyone departs so just ask around what the cool classes are and get the most outa it. It was alot of fun</p>

23

<p>I went to NASS back in 2004, and it was a blast. One of the hardest, yet most rewarding weeks of your life. My best suggestion is make sure you're in good physical shape, as you'll be doing a TON of running/working out/just being on your feet for a long time. There was a lot of company spirit during my session, which made it extra rewarding. Also, my Midshipman had applied three times before getting in, so he really was into the whole academy lifestyle without being super hardcore, which was awesome. It was nice to know someone without a stellar high school career could still do well at USNA (he did the prep school for two years).
Now on to specifics:
Classes - The classes I remember: </p>

<br>


<br>

<p>Physical aspect -
You have PT everyday at 5am. You'll find by the end of the week that by going to bed at 11pm and getting 6 hours of sleep, you're body can do a lot still! The PT will vary anywhere from runs to cardio stuff to calenthetics, ect. Also, you'll do a 1.5mi run for your physical test, in addition to other stuff. </p>

<p>Sea Trials - On the last day, it's the day where your company (7-8 people, and there were about 5 companies per battilion, then 3 battilions) completes 4 "areas" and compete against the other companies, and then against the other battilions
Area #1 - Cross Country Obstacle Course - it was 2.6mi long, but it seemed to go by quicker than a mile run. There were obstacles like wood logs, a rope across a ravine, a wall, and other team building obstacles, all laid out over a course that went down and up hills, sometimes VERY steep, over creeks, fields, and through thick brush. There was at points that it was difficult, but company-mates worked extremely hard to get through together, and were succesful. At the end, there were activities like the company having to hold a log up for as long as possible, company situps, martial arts. Every minute was taken up by something physical. Then, there was about a mile run to the boat dock, and you took a boat ride back to the Yard ("campus") which was a nice break. <em>note - if you're scared of heights, you'll get over it in this course...trust me =P</em>
Area #2 - Pool - I know, I know, sounds fun to be in a pool. No. Tread water for 30min, then get out and do dry land exercises, then another 30min. Then, four large boxes of tennis balls are dumped in the pool, and two have a key on them. There are two teams, and each team has to find a key and the first one to swim to the bottem of the 15ft pool and unlock the plastic ring and bring it back up wins. Basically you're treading water for another 45min. However, during this time, a girl in my session had a seizure in the pool. What was amazing was the fact that I happened to look up as soon as a Mid jumped, fully clothed (fatigue pants, t-shirt, boots) dove in to get her. We sat out of the pool for about 30min as the EMS took her away, sitting Indian Style and facing the wall, dead silent. It was dry land stuff after that.
Area #3- Track Work - probably the hardest. We ran relays, then had to get three tires and three 50lb water tanks around the track (400m), unless you had 8 people in your company, then you got an extra tire. In under 3min. It was near impossible, it took my company four tries. Some never made it. Some made it after one try. It just depended.
Then it was dinner, MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat). They were pretty good, and you could always trade to find something better =P
Area #4 - The Beach - Lots of company stuff, then we had to bear crawl down to the waves, then did company situps/push ups/scissor kicks/ect. REALLY HARD. Then, a long, twine rope was strung through three poles. Each company had to get each member up hanging from the rope, but when one company got more people on one side, it made the other side's rope go higher. My company lost every time. Thenn, we got to get into rubber boats and try to paddel across the river. However, when they sounded a siren, we had to bail out, and pull oursleves back in. Very tough. Then, the fun part. We had to bear crawl through a mud-course as we got sprayed with water. It was sooo muddy, and we smelled awful. Then to make sure we were plenty dirty, we had to dive into a mud pool in the end, make "mud angels", and sing our ABCs. Then we were done. Then a 1mi run back to the yard, and the Initiation Night.</p>

<p>I-Night - Basically you stand in the mail hallway of a floor, stand there, and get yelled at. A ton. You get asked ranks, you get asked questions, you get harassed, you get sent to find people who don't exist, ect ect ect. It was loud. It was nerve-wrecking. But it was fun as anything. I just tried to stand reallllllyyy still and I got passed over a lot. In the end, I guess I looked like I was ready to collapse because they called the end and I wasn't sure if they were serious then this guy came by and was like "its alright, it's over with, you can relax!". Definently very cool.</p>

<p>Tips -
- Drink lots of water. When you run, you cramp due to lack of hydration. Start drinking a ton of water atleast one, but preferably two or three weeks out. Especially if you havent been running much. Trust me, it will pay off a ton.
- Bring lots of socks. You'll go through them extremely quickly.
- You're given t-shirts, so you don't really need to bring any, maybe just one or two.
- Bring athletic wear for PT. Bring loose stuff, and consder investing money into one or two sets of PT wear. I think we were required to wear our athletic shirts that they gave us (i'll add more about this later), but I would bring one or two along just in case. Also, you only need two, maybe three sets, no one cares if you're smelly, you're only going to get worse, and then you shower. Girls - dont bring Soffees. You'll hate life.
-don't bring sweats, you're issued them. Also, you get really nice athletic shirts (we got an under armour shirt and then another lightweight shirt), and t-shirts with the Navy/Academy signas on them.
-you're issued a waterbottle and notebook as well.
-have TWO pairs of shoes!! This is a must! Make sure both are comfy and broken in (buy them a month or two out and go running/wear them around a bit), because you'll need one for morning PT and then one for the rest of the day. Then, on Sea Trials Day, you'll definently mess one up.
- If you need an inhaler, don't be afraid to ask your Mid to hold on to it. I about had an asthma attack at one point, and it was really bad.
-Dont be afraid to ask questions, either at meals or during the day. I got lost the first night and spent 45min searching for my Mid, and I couldve just asked instead.
-Use the buddy system. Everythings too big and too confusing.
-Have fun! Its rewarding, and is great to write about later on!</p>

<p>Oh, and I had a girl in my group that was horribly out of shape, whined, complained, and was pretty much a pain in the butt. But there will be people like that. Just be understanding, supportive, and helpful. She went nuts on us/our Mid many times, but in the end, it was worthwhile because it showed that not everyone will be up to par with everyone else. The obstacle course was definently tough with her, as well as the boat part, simply because she was making decisions that were not only putting herself at risk, but the rest of the company. So please, if you're having trouble, ask for help! You can be dependent on your company, but to a point, your company needs to be able to be dependent on you. Keep this in mind before you decide to go. Know your limits, and if you're willing to put in 100% effort, you're great. But she was not 100%, and it hurt us often. In the end, it was fun to see her "graduate", and I felt good knowing we all helped her though.</p>

<p>Oh, and don't do anything to make yourself stand out. I swear that's what saved me on I-night. I just stood real still, didnt look people in the eyes except when spoken too, and followed commands. I got asked ranks two or three times, then got asked a bunch of other questions by this other guy. And don't say Thank You on that night. And know your ranks. But at one point, I just sort of tuned everything out and just let my mind flow through thoughts, and I swear thats what got me through =P</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

24

<p>Shoebox, thanks a lot for that post. :) I've been waiting for someone to give a long description of what NASS was like.</p>

<p>Question: Why shouldn't we wear Soffee's // What shorts SHOULD we wear?</p>

25

<p>Sent it in at midnight Feb. 1, at first I was not accepted, then invited 5 days before the 3rd session.</p>

26

<p>What are soffees? I feel so ignorant I don't know what those are. They talked about them last year, and I still don't know what they are.</p>

<p>Please, educate.</p>

27

<p>Soffee's are really comfortable cotton (I think?) shorts. They come in every color imaginable and are very convenient to wear while playing sports/exercising.</p>

28

<p>Typically, they are very short cheerleading shorts, although soffee brand shorts do come in other styles. The USNA shorts that you will get at NASS will be much longer.</p>

29

<p>My Plebe attended 2005's Nass and that time told me she really wanted to do NASS someday. Well I got a happy phone call from her, with the news that she was selected for NASS come June. She was the only female from her Company , although several applied. So some of you newbies will probably bump into her. My then high school-to-be-senior became friends with the young man who was her Squad Leader and he still makes an effort to greet her when they bump into each other at USNA. (With her being the Plebe and him now a Second Class, HE has to do this by the way) - And it's not uncommon for young people who meet at NASS to end up at USNA in the same Company. In fact in my Plebe's case - one young man who was in her Squad at NASS is in her Company and Squad at USNA!</p>

<p>For any interested folk, she actually attened USNA and USAFA that 2005 summer and wrote a critique of her experiences. It is actually interesting to read. If anyone cares to email me, I'll send them the 7 pages she wrote. <a href="mailto:nofoolingme2003@yahoo.com">nofoolingme2003@yahoo.com</a></p>

30

<p>by the way shoebox...I enjoyed your memories of your 2004 NASS experience...it was quite similar to my kiddos....what will be interesting is to see what, if any, changes are made this year to this valuable program at USNA.</p>

31

<p>For those of you who chose foreign language...especially the exotic ones like Arabic or Chinese...what is REALLY fun is when the Professor walks in on the class speaking in the language. That's usually your greeting from them before you ever hear them speak English.</p>

32

<p>On the question of 'when will we hear?'</p>

<p>For the 05 NASS USNA sent out their first round of "yes's" 3 weeks into February. What happened was an email snafu that sent the entire 'yes' list to everyone. My kiddo could search through the about 300 email address and discovered that her other 2 friends also got a "yes". I called them to let them know about this wierd breach of privacy ( not that we minded) and they admitted that they made the mistake. I doubt the 06 NASS young people had this experience?</p>

33

<p>All of the people from Georgia got sent an email with their full names and their bgos.
The post about the '04 NASS was a little different from mine. Those classes were a lot different from mine, I don't think many of those were offered last year when I went.
Soffees are really comfortable and they did not provide shorts last year for NASS. Just a lot of t-shirts and under armour. You can waer Soffees just not absurdly short ones, other wise you will get picked out, also don't wear bright pink ones. I saw one girl with these on and she looked ridiculous. You had to bring your own shorts, socks, etc. There were sweats provided, which got disgusting in Sea Trials and I had to throw the pants away. Our sea trials was a little different from the one described. But it will probably be different every year.</p>

34

<p>Thanks for the education on the soffees. I feel just slightly less ignorant.</p>

35

<p>Soffees- they're way too short. If you buy them long, then they're too loose. Trust me, buy some longer mesh shorts. I know most girls hate to wear longer shorts, but you won't stand out amongst the guys, your butt wont show when you're doing sit ups, you wont be constantly worried about your shorts, and mesh shorts dry A LOT quicker. Trust me, get some mesh shorts. You should be fine with any color, but try to avoid something like white, yellow, or even orange because the PT fields could be muddy and they might mess up the shorts. Also, make sure you have a dark blue/black pair for Sea Trials. You'll definently mess them up during then.</p>

<p>As for the sweatpants, mine and my roommates were awful. You're required to wear them for the obstacle course run and the mudpit, and I think even the beach part. We actually had the muddiest part last, so we had to stand through I-night being yelled at AND smelling horrible. Come to think about it, that's actually what one of the Mids started talking to me about, and the conversation is coming back to me and making me chuckle. I remember him saying something about how much we smelled and why and such. Then he said he enjoyed the stench of hard work, thats when I said "Thank you, sir" and thats when I got scolded over that. "Do not say thank you to me!" "Yes, sir". End of conversation haha.
Anyways, my roommate and I both had the madbath last, so while everyone else had already changed and gotten their pants soaking, we just stood there for hours and the mud dried. We both ended up just throwing every piece of clothing (except underwear and bra) in the shower and just turning the shower on full blast. Then, we each took a shower with the clothes in there so the soap washed over them.
Needless to say, I got home and four washings by my mom later, the sweatpants looked ok. They're super long and super soft, so I kept mine, but there is a stain still around the ankles. </p>

<p>More suggestions:
-girls: buy sports bras. Comfy ones too. I did well with mesh ones instead of pure cotten, especially on Sea Trials Day. I definently recommend a light material one for that day, because they dry so quickly.
-sunscreen: you wont need it. 6 days of sun will not give you cancer, and since you'll be inside during the most part of the sunny day, it wont matter. As for Sea Trials, you'll sweat it off 20min after you start.
- underwear: going for the hipsters of of liking will be good for girls, boys i've heard boxer briefs are better
- the food: its actually pretty good. You can always find something to eat, and if you really are picky, the have cereal and PB&J at every meal. My best suggestion is eat a big breakfast, because a) its the best meal b) it'll help keep you awake. You'll burn a lot of calories in PT, and won't notice till the mid afternoon. I ate a reasonable breakfast the first day, and i was falling asleep by lunch. Then, I started eating bigger breakfasts, normal lunches, and normal dinners, and I was instantly better. Try to eat well before you come also. Also, bring power bars or something of the like for quick afternoon snacks in the afternoon on your breaks.
alarm clock - DO NOT FORGET THIS
cell phone - I talked to my mom the first night, and that was about it. I think you're actually required to call home the first night. I talked to my boyfriend the second night. Then, it just sat there, off, and collected voicemails.</p>

<p>That's about it. I got notified by mail I think mid-Feb. I about jumped through the roof I was so happy, and called everyone.
I still consider that week one of the best things of my life. I am medically disqualified to fly for the Navy, so my Navy days ended there =( But it still looks excellent on resumes, and is an excellent story for employers and essays. If you get the chance to go, you'll never regret it. I wish I could do it again in fact haha.</p>

<p>If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me =)</p>

36

<p>Ah, it's time almost time for the Skittles again! My neighbor found out that she'd been accepted a week before she was supposed to report. Evidently, she was put on a waiting list and didn't know it. She thought she hadn't made it in because she never heard from NASS</p>

37

<p>I have been reading this thread for a while now, and I thought I would start posting in the Academy forum. I applied to the Summer Seminar on February 1st at about 12:30 in the morning, and I can't wait to hear from them. </p>

<p>I love the Academy, and have wanted to go there since 7th grade. It's the character that seems to count there; something that isn't nearly as important at Ivy League "institutions."</p>

38

<p>Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I made a Google group for the NASS07. I know its early, but I thought it would be a good way to introduce ourselves:</p>

<p><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/USNASS07%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://groups.google.com/group/USNASS07&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

39

<p>I joined. :D </p>

<p>And it's not too early! Now we have something to occupy ourselves with until we find out if we're accepted or not.</p>

40

<p>To all those going to NASS, take everything seriously when you go and try your best at whatever you do. They don't expect you to know what to do, but they do expect your best effort. Your squad leader will be writing evaluations on your performance and whether or not they think you'll be a good addition to the Academy. My son was a NASS squad leader and was up late most night writing those evaluations.</p>